Saturday, 12 September 2009

Went to see the documentary The September Issue about US Vogue and its formidable editor-in-chief Anna Wintour last night.

I think some of the audience were expecting a laugh at the expense of the fashionistas but the film by RJ Cutler takes a serious look at the way the magazine goes about putting together its biggest issue of the year.

It shows the creativity that goes into its photo shoots and the tensions between staff over what makes the magazine and what's spiked.

One of the best bits of the film is when the magazine's creative director Grace Coddington ropes one of the documentary's cameramen into a shoot with a model. It produces an amazing picture, although Coddington has to plead with the art director not to airbrush out the camerman's ample stomach.

The film also has a great clip of the late Charles Wintour, Anna's father, the former editor of the Evening Standard, who in later years was a media commentator and for a year edited Press Gazette.

Charles is shown in typical style lambasting the Newspaper Publishers Association in a television interview. I can only imagine what he would make of Richmond Desmond owning Express Newspapers or a Russian buying his beloved Evening Standard!

About Me

I am a freelance journalist based in the UK and was deputy editor of Press Gazette, the journalists' magazine, from 1993 until 2006. I want to give an independent view on media matters.
You can contact me with stories, ideas and comments by email at jon.slattery369@btinternet.com You can also follow me on Twitter @jonslattery